February 28, 2014 2:56 pm

The Seattle Seahawks kicked off their offseason today by officially releasing defensive end Red Bryant and wide receiver Sidney Rice.

The moves, rumored for some time now, should save the defending Super Bowl champions about $12 million. That amount is not insignificant considering the team’s desire to re-sign defensive lineman Michael Bennett and wide receiver Golden Tate.

Bryant, who turns 30 in April, had been with the team since it drafted him in the fourth round of the 2008 NFL Draft. The 300-pounder was a key member of the league’s top defense last year and also one of the team’s leaders.

Bryant played in 64 games with 55 starts, tallying 121 tackles (78 solo), 3.5 sacks, two interceptions, one touchdown, seven passes defensed, one forced fumble and two fumble recoveries. Over the past three seasons, he started 47 games, missing one due to injury. He also played in five postseason games with six tackles (two solo).

But, his impact went further than that. After the Super Bowl, Bryant, a defensive captain, led the, “We all we got! We all we need!” chant in the lockerroom. He and Brandon Mebane are best friends. Essentially, Bryant was the old soul of a very young lockerroom.

“We want to thank both Red and Sidney for their effort, commitment and contribution to the Seattle Seahawks over the last few years,” said Executive Vice President/GM John Schneider said in a statement. “These are extremely tough decisions, but we wanted to give them a head start on free agency. We wish them well in the future.”

Bryant was owed a $3 million roster bonus on March 14. The Seahawks save that now.

Rice’s release ends a disappointing stint in Seattle. The Seahawks signed him to a lucrative free-agent contract before the 2011 season but Rice was plagued by injuries in his three seasons. He was placed on the season-ending injured reserve list in Week 8 this past season after tearing his ACL.

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Gregg Bell joined The News Tribune in July 2014. Bell had been the director of writing for the University of Washington's athletic department for four years. He was the senior national sports writer in Seattle for The Associated Press from 2005-10, covering the Seahawks in their first Super Bowl season and beyond. He's also been The Sacramento Bee's beat writer on the Oakland Athletics and Raiders. The native of Steubenville, Ohio, is a 1993 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., and a 2000 graduate of the University of California, Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism.

Rice played in every game two years ago, but he never came close to being the player Seattle thought it was getting for $8 million/yr. Some good moments to be sure, but I think there was a bit of bailing wire holding Rice together. It cost him some of that speed and quickness (for his size) that made Seattle pull the trigger on the big deal.

Rice proved though that he wasn’t a malingerer or diva – he did all he could to get on the field.

I guess Bryant’s contract structure meant it was inevitable he would be cut. If he carries a $3 million cap charge regardless of whether he’s on the team or not, there’s no way a suitable contract reduction could be made that would give Bryant close to what he might be able to get on the open market.

Bryant would pretty much have to re-sign for the minimum for Seattle to realize any significant cap savings. I have to think some other team will be willing to give Bryant at least a $2-3 million/yr deal. I guess this is one deal Seattle’s brass did not design as a deal to expire in 2014 (whereas the Rice, Miller, and probably the Clemons deals all were planned to be redone or terminated by 2014, and structured accordingly.)

Yes, he played all 16 games two years ago, but he played with TJack as his QB in an offense that really wanted to run the ball. That’s going to diminish anyone’s numbers and perceived impact.

And then he did get hurt – a lot.

So… I’d say “disappointment” is a correct way of evaluating Rice’s stay here. Maybe the disappointment wasn’t on him every time, and some of it was his QB or other offensive factors, but it just never did work out.

Anybody know anything about Jordan? I didn’t pay any attention to him last off-season prior to the draft because I knew there was zero percent chance that the Hawks would be able to get him. If the Dolphins are too stupid to know how to play an athletic freak, I’m sure Mr. Happy wouldn’t have any problem with it. If they’d dump him for a 2nd rounder, that’d be crazy. Heck, most rookies are worthless their initial season in the league. They don’t take off, USUALLY, until they get a year under their belt. But, as I said, I don’t know anything of him so I don’t know if this is something I’d want to do but whoever gets him would have him for the remainder of his rookie contract (and the worthless year is over – like Jordan Hill, he did nothing as a rookie, as was expected, but I really like him moving forward).

I’ll be surprised if Red Bryant isn’t snagged up quickly. But if he isn’t I would sure welcome him back. The guy is a beast against the run and he takes up space that frees other guys to make plays. He’d probably fit very well anchoring the middle in a 3-4 somewhere.

Honestly, I realize the production to pay ratio that has been posted here about Red, but in my heart I hate to see him depart. If this had been a different front office, or even a different era (I was outraged for a long time about the trading Josh Wilson to the ravens), but in JS / PC I trust. I believe.

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